Wedding infects 175 people with coronavirus, records 7 deaths

A wedding, which reportedly saw guests flout social distancing rules, has resulted in at least seven deaths and an outbreak at an aged care home.

A US wedding which violated social distancing rules has resulted in 175 coronavirus infections and seven deaths.

The August 7 nuptials saw more than 65 guests attend the reception at Big Moose Inn in the Maine town of Millinocket, exceeding the state’s limit of having just 50 people present at weddings, NBC Boston reports.

Subsequent inspections by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also reportedly found tables in the inn were not sufficiently spaced apart and staff not wearing masks.

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Big Moose Inn in Maine. Picture: wagmtv

Local station News Center Maine also reports that guests at the wedding had not worn masks or socially distanced from each other, despite signage telling them to do so.

Crucially, the inn also did not collect contact tracing information from guests.

Multiple outbreaks in Maine have now been connected to the wedding reception, including one at an aged care facility, Maplecrest Rehabilitation Center, where six people have died of coronavirus.

More than 39 staff and residents at the nursing home have tested positive, with locals telling NBC Boston the outbreak was a “difficult” situation.

There is also more than 70 confirmed cases at York County Jail linked to the wedding, with Fox News reporting a staff member there had attended the reception.

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Weddings in the US are still allowed to go ahead but must follow state coronavirus restrictions. Picture: Olivier Douliery/AFP

The violations saw Big Moose Inn temporarily closed by health officials, however, late last month it was able to reopen its doors.

In a statement, the inn’s owner Laurie Cormier said he was “deeply saddened” by the outbreak but that “we cannot be sure the virus was fully spread at our facility”.

Mr Cormier said the venue had misinterpreted state rules by splitting the wedding guests up and since added more sanitisation procedures.

“Our interpretation was that we could take a wedding party of more than 50 persons, and split them between two rooms as long as it didn’t exceed our total capacity or a specific room’s capacity,” he said.

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In a statement the inn’s owner said ‘we cannot be sure the virus was fully spread at our facility’. Picture: NBC Boston

“The State – perhaps, rightfully so – assumes that individuals from a larger group would ignore the room restrictions, and take the opportunity to co-mingle.”

Mr Cormier said that all guests had been temperature screened before attending and only two staff have since tested positive for coronavirus.

“While we cannot be sure the virus was fully spread at our facility, we know that there are things that we can be doing better,” he said.

“We have given the Maine CDC our word, and we are giving our community and guests that same word that we will do – and are doing – better.”